Human Intestine Grown in Mouse for First Time as Scientists Say There is Hope to Create 'Spare Parts' for People

The miniature intestine grew from a single stem cell to the size of a fingertip and was able to carry out many of the functions associated with digesting and absorbing food, scientists said.

It is the latest evidence supporting the idea that whole organs, composed of a complex arrangement of specialised tissues, could be made inside a patient’s body by exploiting the inherent power of living cells to organise themselves into a fully functioning structure.

In addition to growing human organs from scratch, scientists believe that the technology will produce better laboratory models of diseased tissue for testing drugs, which could speed up the development of new medicines, as well as offering alternatives to animal testing.

“These studies support the concept that patient-specific cells can be used to grow intestine,” said Michael Helmrath, of the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical...